In December 2015, Tim Peake became the first Briton in space for more than 20 years and a new member of the European Astronaut Corps. As Tim adjusts to life on board the International Space Station (ISS), Kevin Fong's CHRISTMAS LECTURES take us on a journey from planet Earth into Low Earth Orbit and beyond.. Throughout the three-part Christmas Lecture series, Kevin, accompanied by special guest appearances from ISS astronauts, revealed what daily life is like 400 kilometers above the Earth, demonstrated the technology and techniques that help them stay safe and healthy, and explained the scientific experiments they are part of that are helping to stretch the limits of our understanding of human physiology and survival in a way that no experiment back on Earth could. The lectures are available for viewing at the following website:

The most difficult part of any space journey is the first 400 kilometers, overcoming Earth’s gravity to reach Low Earth Orbit. Though Tim’s journey to the space station took over six hours, reaching Low Earth Orbit lasted just eight and a half minutes. These eight and a half minutes were probably be the most dangerous of his life. The only way to escape the well of Earth’s gravity is on a rocket ship, in other words, an enormous bomb. As Tim took his place in the Soyuz capsule, all of his support staff were rapidly travelling the other way. No-one but the astronauts are allowed closer than a kilometer to this enormous tank of explosives. Astronauts are trained to constantly think ‘What’s the next thing that could kill me?’

In this Hangout we answer students’ question about Tim’s journey from the launch pad to the space station. Our Host, Dr. Steve Jacobs (Wizard IV) begins by introducing our live, interactive classrooms from the UK and US to Dr. Kevin Fong, Christmas Lecturer, and Stephen J Damico, NASA Power and Propulsion Engineer.

Tim made it safely to the space station and now he faces the next challenge – living in space. Without a space suit, a human would survive not much more than a minute in space, so Tim’s stay means living in a fragile survival bubble. The ISS protects human life against space radiation, the hard vacuum of space and the extremes of temperature. Astronauts must take everything with them to survive; their light, their heat, their power, their food and water and their atmosphere. So if it’s so difficult to do, how have we kept a human in space continuously since 2000?

In this Hangout we answer students’ questions about the life of an astronaut on board the ISS. Our Host, Dr. Steve Jacobs (Wizard IV) begins by introducing our live, interactive classrooms from the UK and US to Dr. Kevin Fong, Christmas Lecturer, and Lara (Liz) Warren, a member of the ISS NASA Communications Team.

The space station orbits just 400 kilometers away and, for most of the 560 astronauts who have flown to space, this is the furthest they have travelled from the Earth’s surface. But the ultimate purpose of the ISS is a training and learning platform for human missions much further afield.

At more than 400,000 kilometers away, the Moon is the furthest that humans have ever travelled from our planet. But space agencies are already designing missions that will take us far beyond the Moon, on to Mars and perhaps even to near Earth asteroids. And where the human explorers stop the robots take over. British and European scientists and engineers are already world leaders in this field. Their robotic missions have taken us to some of the shores of Titan, the rings of Saturn and the surface of a comet. More adventure lies in wait: the oceans of Europa, Pluto and the volcanoes of Io. But there are some scientific questions that can only be answered by sending a human mission to the Moon or to Mars, and such a long journey presents its own problems.

In this Hangout, students’ questions will focus on how science can help us propel crews across the vast chasm of space that separates the planets as we will look at the challenges of designing artificial life support systems for these marathon voyages. Our Host, Dr. Steve Jacobs (Wizard IV) begins by introducing our live, interactive classrooms from the UK and US to Dr. Kevin Fong, Christmas Lecturer, Trent Smith, with Aerospace Flight Systems at NASA Kennedy Space Center, and Massa Gioia (Joy-ya), with Life Sciences Research also at NASA KSC.

What is the ultimate goal of these explorations? What is it out there that is worth the risk? We look at what we might learn, and celebrate the spirit of adventure that underpins these 21st century explorations.﻿